They told the story of a young woman from the country who arrived in London with the promise of work only to end up as a whore. The paintings show her fall from grace as she becomes the courtesan of a wealthy man, then a common whore, and spends time in a jail for her conduct before finally dies of venereal disease.
The first image in the series shows the young woman, Moll Hackabout, arriving in London. She is shown looking innocent being the only figure visible dressed in white as she is sized up by an old bawd who is intended to be a local figure, Mother Needham.
Moll's cases are beside Mother Needham as though she is being hired and will be lead to accommodation. The old bawd is worn looking with sores and boil covering her face.
In the background a religious figure sits on his horse taking no notice of what is happening- Moll is being acquired for work as a prostitute. His horse is knocking over a pile of pans and equipment highlighting the other characters ignorance as no one reacts. Objects falling around Moll is a recurring motif throughout the series of images maybe suggesting her fall from grace.
Some other women in the background sit on the cart that has delivered Moll like sheep being taken to market. The woman hanging her clothes in the background goes on with day to day business as though nothing is wrong.
On the right by the doorway is another character representing a sort of celebrity figure from the area, Colonel Chateris. He was a rich man that was hated by the public for fraudulently collecting debt money from desperate business owners and then later for raping his servant but receiving a Royal pardon after being sentenced to death. He is shown here fondling himself in anticipation. Beside him is yet another figure of the day , Jack Gourlay. Jacks submissive pose and crossed hands mirror Molls.
In the second image Moll has become the mistress of a rich Jew. She is taking her good fortune for granted though and shown in the scene is another young lover escaping out the door in the background while the servant gives him his shoes and the "Jew" takes tea. Moll is kicking over the table to distract him.
The scene also shows how exotic her surroundings are with a pet monkey and a West Indian servant boy. But Moll is also a slave.
Image 3 is a harsh contrast to Image 2. Moll has become a common prostitute. Her servant is now an ugly fat woman and the monkey is replaced by a common cat.
Her masquerade face from image 2 is now replaced by a witches hat hanging above her bed suggesting that she will be hunted and burned. This scene also depicts Molls arrest. She is shown revealing a pocket watch she has presumably stolen.
The gentlemen coming in through the door is Justice Gleason, notorious for his anti prostitution agenda. He would travel through London shutting down whore houses and arresting prostitutes.
John Dalton's wig box can also be seen above her bed suggesting that the infamous highwayman was one of her lovers.
Molls life has taken a dive. She has been arrested and is shown at Brideswell in the fourth image of the series. She is herself being stolen from as she is beating hemp. Her maid now puts on Molls fancy stockings on the right. In the background other thieves and whores beat hemp.
In the fifth image Moll is succumbing to venereal disease in surroundings that contrast with her lavish lifestyle in image two.
The stool is knocked over and whatever was on it is broken, just like Moll herself is broken. Her servant now openly rummages through her belongings , the same case we see in image one, while Moll is too delirious to do anything about it.
Two more "celebrities" of the time are depicted in the background on the left arguing over which ones treatment is the best. They are Dr Richard Rock and Dr Jean Misaubin, both notorious quacks with false cures.
One of them has given her mercury as a "cure". Which has made her teeth fall out as can be seen on the right hand side
The last image shows Moll's funeral. It is filled with indifference as those present focus on things other than Molls passing.The clergyman at the left spills his drink as he has his hand up the skirt of the woman next to him while she hides the act with her hat.
A man on the right helps a whore with her glove even as she steals his handkerchief.
The little boy sits in front of the coffin oblivious to what is going on around him focusing instead on a toy. And a woman in the background examines herself in the mirror.
One of the things that is starting to become clear to me while researching Hogarth is the disdain he had for the way the wealthy exploited the poor and how contemptible the rules of society at the time were.
He shows this in the series with the indifference of the characters in the first and last images and in the way characters are depicted such as Colonel Chateris in the first image as a crude man fondling himself as he waits by the brothel door.
The clergymen in both the first and last image are shown as corrupt.
The fact that she is kept as a mistress of the Jew in the second image, no different really than the slave boy or the monkey.
The story is a moral one. It's a warning for young girls and women of the dangers of life as a prostitute as well as a voyeuristic tease for men whilst attacking their vices and desires.
Here's a link to a channel 4 TV film about Hogarth and the creation of a Harlot's Progress. Not sure how much is true and how much is fiction but it was an interesting watch regardless.
Unfortunately the link probably won't work if you are outside of the UK.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/a-harlots-progress/4od/player/2932553
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